"Nine while nine." Thoughts, links, random walks, weirdness, politics, other things. A weblog held in lieu of a writing journal and to replace a static webpage that hasn't gotten improved much in years.

October 23, 2004

Further intentions

"It's unheard of, an adventure like this in the midst of the 20th century..." - G. Debord

When I first posted that on the web, it was indeed still the 20th century and the term Y2K hadn't entered the consciousness of even the most forward-looking swindler. Guy Debord is dead now, by his own hand, and within the integrated spectacle that isn't likely to fall to any known force. But is the web something different? A candle held up to the spectacle? Or spectacles held to the spectacle? Darned if I know, but it's fun to post up here my own little sound effects directed at the universe. Hey universe, listen up.

"Whatever represses pleasure will be destroyed by it." - R. Vaneigem

Paris in 1968 is not Minneapolis in 2004. Surely true. People are asleep, dreaming? The rain falls on empty sidewalks lit by the glow of televisions in the windows. Late capitalism has perfected the dreamy idle of clerks without customers, lovers waiting in vain, and the McDonalds monopoly game. Running in the streets proclaiming the end of history (herstory?) would be just absurd.

"Our aim is wakefulness, our enemy is dreamless sleep." - ToPY

But online, no one knows if you're serious. Why not? Why not let a thousand foolish ideas bloom? Declare the end of profane time, but go to work plenty early to get those memos finished. Ponder the politics of reductionism, but send your $20 to the ACLU.